Page:Historical Works of Venerable Bede vol. 2.djvu/174

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102
THE MINOR HISTORICAL WORKS

day of his departure till the day of his death, i. e. from the 4th of June till the 25th of September, a space of one hundred and fourteen days, besides the canonical hours of prayer, he never omitted to go twice daily through the Psalter in order; and even when he became so weak that he could not ride on horseback, and was obliged to be carried in a horse-litter, the holy ceremony of the mass was offered up every day, except one which he passed at sea, and the three days immediately before his death.

§ 23. He died on Friday, the 25th of September, in the year of our Lord 716, between three and four o'clock, in the fields of the city before mentioned, and was buried the next day near the first milestone on the south side of the city, in the monastery of the twins, followed by a large number of his English attendants and the inhabitants of the city and monastery. The names of these twin martyrs are Speusippus, Eleusippus, and Meleusippus. They were born at one birth, and born again by baptism at the same time: together with their aunt Leonella, they left behind them the holy remembrance of their martyrdom; and I pray that they may bestow upon my unworthy self, and upon our holy father, the benefit of their intercession and protection.